african music

Dave Matthews is renowned not just for his soulful voice and poetic lyrics but also for his distinctive guitar style that's as unique as his music itself. When it comes to Dave's guitar playing, rhythm is the name of the game.

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Some see a rusty oil drum—a byproduct of Trinidad's oil industry. Others see a musical opportunity.

The steel pan orchestra proves that bass is more than an instrument. It’s an experience.

I’m here in Trinidad and Tobago, and I’ve been exploring the bass role from the perspective of my parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, who were bought here as slaves from Africa. Looking back, there is no doubt whatsoever that my Trini roots helped shape the bass player I became, because T&T is a bass-centric place. Trinidadians might sing the bass line or melody, when it comes to recalling a favorite song. As a child, I, too, found myself constantly fascinated by whatever the drums and bass were doing.

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The Malian master blows Bill Frisell's mind. The technique, tone, and conceptual breadth of his debut album, Mande Guitar, will astonish you, too.

Boubacar "Badian" Diabaté's debut release, Mande Guitar, will shatter your preconceptions about what the instrument is truly capable of. Don't believe me? Then take it from Bill Frisell, the sonic groundbreaker who practically reinvented the jazz guitar playbook. In Frisell's words, "Boubacar 'Badian' Diabaté blows my mind. He's doing things I've never heard anyone do before."

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